U.S. News and World Report has ranked two Fayette County high schools as being among the best in the nation for preparing students for college and careers, according to Melinda Berry-Dreisbach, public relations director for the system.
McIntosh High and Whitewater High are among the nation’s top performing public high schools included on the 2017 “Best High Schools” list that is published annually by the digital news and information company.
Both schools received a silver medal. Medals of gold, silver and bronze are awarded to schools based on their academic performance on state assessments, graduation rates, and how well they prepare students for college.
Only 6,041 high schools out of more than 22,000 nationwide received a medal. Just 10.3 percent of the schools earned silver medals.
On the national list, McIntosh High is ranked 867, and Whitewater High is ranked 1,291.
For Georgia, McIntosh High is ranked 25, and Whitewater High is ranked 35.
“All of our high schools in Fayette County are performing well, but it is gratifying when individual schools are highlighted by external organizations like U.S. News and World Report,” said Fayette Schools Superintendent Dr. Joseph Barrow. “This recognition is noted on an annual basis and we always expect that one or more of our schools will make the list. Kudos to MHS and WHS on being designated this year.”
A four-step process determined the rankings on the “Best High Schools” list. The first three steps ensured that the schools serve all students well, using their performance on the math and reading parts of their state proficiency tests, and graduation rates as the benchmarks. For those schools that made it past the first three steps, a fourth step assessed the degree to which schools prepare students for college-level work.
The “Best High Schools” rankings are available on www.usnews.com.
